Our View: A better way to build in Massachusetts

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Milford Daily News

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Posted May. 25, 2014 at 12:35 AM

Posted May. 25, 2014 at 12:35 AM

» Social News

Massachusetts’ zoning law, enacted more than 40 years ago, was the first in the nation. Now it’s the oldest, and nobody seems to like it. Developers complain about excessive delays in getting projects approved. Municipal planners complain about too much haphazard development. Almost everyone complains that the zoning law not only encourages suburban sprawl, it almost requires it.

But planners and developers, often at odds at municipal board meetings, have long been at odds over zoning reform. Efforts to improve the legal basis for building in Massachusetts have repeatedly stalled, with one side pushing for looser regulation while the other pushes for more government control.

Those promoting "smart growth"-oriented development hope this year is different. A bill that offers some advantages for each side has cleared an important hurdle in the House. If it can clear a few more, Massachusetts may have a new set of development ground rules that will benefit all sides.

The bill, supported by nearly 50 environmental, housing and planning organizations, includes provisions that would be solid improvements over the current system:

Consolidated permitting, to allow local boards to review a proposal together, instead of making developers run a gantlet of uncoordinated boards with competing visions.

A standardized method for assessing impact fees on developers, calibrated to the community’s capital spending plan, to replace the current free-form negotiations developers sometimes consider close to extortion.

Inclusionary zoning, through which a community may encourage affordable, higher density housing.

A local option to replace "approval not required" permitting, which encourages sprawl and limits homebuilders’ design options, with a "minor subdivision review" process that promises to be simpler and faster than traditional subdivision permitting.

New tools and incentives, including preferences for state infrastructure grants, for communities that embrace smart growth principles in their bylaws.

Smart growth aligns the development process with widely accepted goals: preserving open space, providing a range of much-needed new housing, an efficient, sustainable transportation infrastructure and healthy, walkable neighborhoods. Here in MetroWest and along the I-495 corridor, we know too well what "dumb growth" brings: forests and farms lost to cookie-cutter homes on identical lots, daily traffic jams on country roads, high prices that lock countless families out of the housing market.

Massachusetts can do better, and must do better if it is to produce the housing it needs while preserving the quality of life we all desire. The reforms included in H1859, now awaiting a green light from the House Ways & Means Committee, balance the needs of developers and communities to create a better way to build.